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Friday, August 15, 2014

Frugal Foodie on a Ghana Cedi: Candle-Lit Dinner

Let’s talk
about electricity. You probably don’t think about it a whole lot (at least, I
didn’t); something that’s easy to take for granted. A quick flip of a switch
and voila, a luminescence appears without the slightest effort. But let’s
suppose that is not the case. Perhaps 10:00am rolls around and BAM, the socket
is dead, your computer has maybe an hour or two of life left, there is that
important Skype call at noon, and the power could be out for an hour or ten. At
least it’s a nice day, so take a break and go for a walk.

But let’s
say it’s 6:30pm, you’ve just begun to put dinner on the stove, and suddenly you
are left with little more than the glow of the gas burner. Now that’s a
different story, but one that has become all too common here in Ghana. In the
States, electric companies are responsible for ensuring adequate power to cover
both base loads and peak usage. I can just imagine the outrage, the demands for
compensation, the hours upon hours of customer service calls, if regular power
outages occurred.

Here, the
absence of electricity during certain days or times of day seems almostmandatory, and is very much expected. As many people cook with charcoal, or gas
if they have the money, they don’t run into the same problems of non-functional
microwaves, electric ovens, or burner coils (though refrigeration can be a
problem in some circumstances).

Life without
light – without the blaring TV, the ever-present computer – just goes on. It’s
kind of nice though; you can sit, writing, listening to the sounds of all life
around – the strange chirps and buzzes that only come with the night. Reading,
talking, playing games, or actually getting that much-needed sleep rather than
spending an extra hour or two on Facebook. There are also downsides to the unpredictability:
work can come to a grinding halt (like my literature review progress,
yesterday); food that was refrigerated or frozen could spoil; and the streets
of the city become a little more hazardous for pedestrians.

Yet, power
out or not, we still have access to it regularly; many communities are left
without it entirely. In fact, in Ghana 28% of the population (about 7 million people) still has no
electricity, and in the whole of Africa 550 million people (that's just under 50%) are without reliable electricity. While I fully believe that in the
US model, we rely too heavily on a constant supply of electricity for devices
and other stimuli, there are also serious barriers to development that coincide
with its complete absence. Think about hospitals. Think about schools. Think
about air control towers.

All that
said, I quite enjoyed my torch-lit (yes, electric powered by rechargeable
batteries…) dinner. It is by far my favourite combination of Ghanaian foods,
and really the only dishes I can competently make myself.

Red-Red
and Stew of Contumere ne Naadewa (serves 2-3)

6 small
spicy peppers

5 cloves
garlic, peeled and halved

3 onions, sliced
thin

1 cm3
ginger, minced very finely

2.5 cups
black-eyed peas, cooked

6-8 small
tomatoes, seeded and chopped

2 tbs tomato
paste

2 small
eggplants, seeded and finely diced

3 cups/6-8
leaves cocoyam leaves or collard greens, shredded

2 tbs
vegetable oil + 3-4 tbs red palm oil

Salt to
taste

Water as
needed

1. Place peppers, onions, and garlic in a bowl of water.
Prepare the eggplant, and do the same but salted. Ever 10 minutes, drain the eggplant
and refill with water

2. With a mortar and pestle, begin to grind the peppers until
the seeds are no longer identifiable. Add half the onions and all the garlic,
and continue to grind to a uniform pulp.

3. We’re making two dishes simultaneously, so in two saucepans,
heat 1 tbs of vegetable oil and 1 tbs red palm oil over a medium flame. Add
half of the pulp to each pan, stir, and then cover. Allow to cook only for 2-3
minutes, and then add half each of the rest of the onions (and maybe a splash
of water, if it’s sticking). Now cook for about 5 minutes.

4. To one pot, add the tomatoes and ginger. Cover and let stew
for about 10 minutes to break down the tomatoes. Drain the eggplant one final
time, and pour it into the other pot. Stir, add water if needed, and cover,
allowing to stew for 10-15 minutes.

5. Thin tomato paste in ¼ cup of water. Add, along with beans,
to the tomato pot. Reduce to a simmer and let the flavours meld for a nice 20
minutes. In the other pot, add the greens. You may have to do this in stages,
as it will cook down considerably. Also reduce heat and let simmer for 15-20
minutes, until the eggplant is basically falling apart and the greens are very soft.
Salt both stews to taste.

6. Fry up some plantain (1 per person is probably fine) and
enjoy! Remember, in true form, only eat with your right hand. :)